History of the missions of the American board of commissioners for foreign missions to the oriental churches, Volume II.Anderson, Rufus
Religion
History of the missions of the American board of commissioners for foreign missions to the oriental churches, Volume II.
Anderson, Rufus
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions; Missions -- Eastern churches
"On the Sabbath the half of the body of the church was filled with
women packed closely together on the floor. The other half, and the
broad galleries around three sides of the house, were completely
crowded with men. A new church is needed immediately in the other
end of the town. I bless God that He brought me here, and I feel
almost like saying, 'Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.'"
It should be said that this visit to Marash was in the midst of a
revival. The resident missionary, Mr. White, describes the work as
being chiefly among the Armenians and Roman Catholics. "Every night
they met in the houses of the Protestants and spent hours, sometimes
even till near morning, examining the Scriptures and comparing them
with the corrupt teachings of their own churches. Our young men were
very active, laboring both day and night, so much so, that the
Catholic bishop said he could not understand it; that if the young
men were paid for thus laboring, the missionaries had not money
enough; and if they were not paid, they had a love which he could
not understand. Many of his people, however, seemed to comprehend it
better than he did, and are now regular attendants at our church."
The veteran missionary pays a noble tribute to the wives of the
missionaries at the several stations of the central mission: "I felt
myself rebuked when I saw the earnest, self-devoted spirit of my
missionary sisters, who are laboring in Aintab, in Marash, in
Antioch, in Aleppo, and in Oorfa, for the salvation of their
degraded sex; thinking little of the sacrifices they have made in
leaving America, to live in such a country as Turkey. It would be
difficult to find in Christendom a more happy class than these, our
helpers in Christ Jesus. The holy object which fills their hearts
lifts them above the distracting and embittering influences of
external circumstances."
The change at Diarbekir, during the score of years since Dr. Grant
and Mr. Homes barely escaped with their lives, had been truly
wonderful. Drs. Dwight and Schneider and Mr. Nutting, on their
approach from Oorfa, were met, eighteen miles out, by a deputation
of Protestant brethren on horseback; and, a few miles further on, by
another detachment, headed by Mr. Walker and the native pastor; and
when near the city, by a third on foot, thus giving them a sort of
triumphal entry. Nor, during their whole stay, was there anything to
awaken a feeling of insecurity, but convincing evidence, that
Protestantism had a strong hold on many minds.
Dr. Dwight noticed a decline of the Turkish population in the region
of the Euphrates. Several entire quarters in Diarbekir, formerly
Turkish, had passed into Christian hands, and the process was going
on. Armenians, Jacobites, and Protestants were buying Turkish
houses, but seldom did a Turk buy one of theirs; and around the
outskirts of the city there were extensive Turkish quarters all in
ruins.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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